Ice conditions?

Any word on ice conditions? Slush? Cracks?

Red Eye wrote:

Any word on ice conditions? Slush? Cracks?

I was thinking the same thing. It’s well covered. Hopefully this upcoming arctic blast gets things moving.

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From what I have heard there is slush on a lot of lakes that had ice. I was in southern WI over the holiday and when we went south on Thanksgiving day people were icefishing near Appleton, when we came back it was open water.

I think a lot of lakes opened up and those that didn’t have a lot of snow on top with slush underneath.

icenutz wrote:

From what I have heard there is slush on a lot of lakes that had ice. I was in southern WI over the holiday and when we went south on Thanksgiving day people were icefishing near Appleton, when we came back it was open water.

I think a lot of lakes opened up and those that didn’t have a lot of snow on top with slush underneath.

I fished Isle Bay and Twin Bays last weekend. Hardly any slush but about 6-8 inches of snow on Isle Bay with 5-8 inches of ice and no snow and about 4-5 inches of ice out from Macs Twin Bay. Anything outside the bay was sketchy according to the resorts.

Interested to hear ice thickness for Garrison and Red Door this weekend. Might try and sneak up Monday morning if the FW is ok with it.

mahtofire14 wrote:

Interested to hear ice thickness for Garrison and Red Door this weekend. Might try and sneak up Monday morning if the FW is ok with it.

This report from today from Barnacle’s…just east of Red Door.

“12-11-19 Ice Report
Jimmy walked out this morning to the 1st break, found 5-6 inches of ice where the first break starts. He did not go beyond that. However, there is a stretch before you get to the first break that is only 2 inches and has water under the snow. Plans are to do some flooding today over the 2 inch stretch. Our access is still closed to all traffic. Stay tuned…..”

Something to consider if planning the north shore. I believe Garrison and the west side is not much better yet either.

Still plenty of other areas to get out if you’re walking and limited snowmobile ATV travel south side like where you already were.

One great source of information and reports is from Eddy Lyback on the south side. Granted, he reports just his area but I find what he says seems consistent with what you might expect around the lake.

Here’s a snippet from his report yesterday…

“It has been many years since I’ve seen a start like this. To have this much snow and not enough consistent ice to get out there and plow is the real problem.  I always have been able to get a road when there was enough ice to plow.  Even if it was a little at a time and knowing how to use the weight of the snow to get the road to float I always got out there.   This year is different. The more snow we get in the next couple weeks, the less of a chance we have.”

Here’s the link to his reports for those that would like to follow…

http://lybacks.com/category/fishing-report/

I’m sure hoping for a season though, grandkids I’ve planned to spend in a sleeper house in January.

Thanks Andy. I don’t know why but I always forget to check their reports. As much as I love fishing the south end early ice, the bite was really tough last weekend. We’ll see what the rest of the week holds.

mahtofire14 wrote:

As much as I love fishing the south end early ice, the bite was really tough last weekend.

If I may, allow me to comment on that.

I’ve ice fished the lake for a good many years and the reality is that no matter when and where you fish, the results will vary a lot.

I’ve found that it is usually hit or miss with more misses than hits. Don’t be fooled by the reports of fast action, 20, 30, 40 walleyes a day ice fishing. You hear that from the one or two that hit it right, meanwhile there’s another 50 folks that were lucky to get a couple in 2 days. That’s the normal and I believe it commonly gets over-hyped by those that hit it at the right time and place and that’s what we want to hear and then set unrealistic expectations.

I’ve spent days out there on mud flats and offshore reefs and caught 1 or 2 walleye.

Another time I went with a portable at dusk close to shore and caught a dozen in less than an hour.

Some fish will stay shallow while every angler drives past them miles out to the flats.

BTW, you may feel you had a really tough bite last weekend but that 26″ walleye would make the trip successful and during the day! Just gotta keep expectations relative.

Ripjiggen wrote:

20-30 is realistic if you are willing to put in some major effort and move to stay on fish. If you sit in one spot or two not gonna happen even in high percentage areas. At least not consistently. I think the ice is going to be tough this year on Mille Lacs as I think it is going to vary greatly depending on what part of the lake. It always does to some extent but this year may be more extreme. I think this weekend your safest bet is in the south bays. Main lake right now you are taking an unnecessary risk IMHO. Unless they add some decent ice in the next few days.

You’ve been there before!

You got it.

I remember you from LSF, is that still going?

Ripjiggen wrote:

20-30 is realistic if you are willing to put in some major effort and move to stay on fish.

That’s been my experience as well, stay on the move and you will catch a decent amount unless something with the weather shuts them down. When I had a sleeper house and just fished out of it, it would vary from 1-2 a weekend to a dozen or more, but never 20-30+ from one spot. Andy LSF is dead, I check back every once in a great while and it’s a ghost town.

I’m looking forward to hearing some positive reports form the north end ice before I make my first trip, and like Andy said I will be fishing shallow and usually do pretty well!

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

However, there is a stretch before you get to the first break that is only 2 inches and has water under the snow.

Damn, that is so sketchy.

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

olks that were lucky to get a couple in 2 days. That’s the normal and I believe it commonly gets over-hyped by those that hit it at the right time and place and that’s what we want to hear and then set unrealistic expectations.

A couple fish in TWO days? That’s down right awful.

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mahtofire14 wrote:</div>
As much as I love fishing the south end early ice, the bite was really tough last weekend.

If I may, allow me to comment on that.

I’ve ice fished the lake for a good many years and the reality is that no matter when and where you fish, the results will vary a lot.

I’ve found that it is usually hit or miss with more misses than hits. Don’t be fooled by the reports of fast action, 20, 30, 40 walleyes a day ice fishing. You hear that from the one or two that hit it right, meanwhile there’s another 50 folks that were lucky to get a couple in 2 days. That’s the normal and I believe it commonly gets over-hyped by those that hit it at the right time and place and that’s what we want to hear and then set unrealistic expectations.

I’ve spent days out there on mud flats and offshore reefs and caught 1 or 2 walleye.

Another time I went with a portable at dusk close to shore and caught a dozen in less than an hour.

Some fish will stay shallow while every angler drives past them miles out to the flats.

BTW, you may feel you had a really tough bite last weekend but that 26″ walleye would make the trip successful and during the day! Just gotta keep expectations relative.

I’ve fished it hard the last 3 years and never expect a good day up there. When it happens I’m happy. A good day for me is a good bite for an hour at sunrise, a lot of work for a few fish during the day and then another stellar bite during the last hour of the day. What made it tough last weekend was the snow and the fish were there and biting but not hard. Lots of hooksets and flags, but not many hookups. I still plan on being up there plenty this year.

I had a buddy text me this morning as he drove up the West side and said there were snowmobiles buzzin around out on the lake.

Mille Lacs is better than it’s ever been, everybody has a bad day but the good fishermen figure it out. If your not catching fish move.

Eelpoutguy wrote:

I had a buddy text me this morning as he drove up the West side and said there were snowmobiles buzzin around out on the lake.

And it’s information like this that make it all the more dangerous. It starts with one or two going out of the public access on sleds. A handful more see that going on and head out too. They see that and assume ice must be good everywhere and before you know it, dozens of folks are zipping out across the lake on their sleds in all directions without out checking anything.

Sure, maybe most won’t have any tragedy…but the reality particularly now is there’s too many people pushing the envelope and one or two die out there to find a few walleye’s?

The resorts that have been at this for years I believe know more and have the common sense to keep their access’s closed.

Reports from today…

Red Door Resort…

Ice report 12/12 – “Ice ranging from 2″ – 9″. We will keep our access closed this weekend due to the patches of very thin ice. We hope the weekend cold (-12 Sat night) will build up those areas so we can open for next weekend. Wish we had better news but we will not let anyone out through our access until we feel the ice is safe for our guests. Thanks to Brad Hawthorne and team for the great video’s and information Stay tuned…..”

Ice report 12/12 – Ice ranging from 2" – 9". We will keep our access closed this weekend due to the patches of very thin ice. We hope the weekend cold (-12 Sat night) will build up those areas so we can open for next weekend. Wish we had better news but we will not let anyone out through our access until we feel the ice is safe for our guests. Thanks to Brad Hawthorne and team for the great video's and information Stay tuned…..

Posted by Red Door Resort on Thursday, December 12, 2019

Agate Bay Resort…

December 12 Report
“I went outa little ways from shore today and found about 5 inches of snow on top of a lot of slush. That is actually fairly good news. If we get some really cold weather, it should freeze the slush and there is not that much snow on top to insulate the slush.
Our access is closed this weekend . Hopefully some more cold weather is coming after this milder weather. No one would want to walk far in the slush and that is the only way to get anywhere. We will continue to watch this and will go farther out as it freezes.”

Tim Chapman, Chapman’s Mille Lacs Resort…

“Mother nature is going to make it tough all season on this end anyway! 8″ ice 4″ water on top and 5″ -12 snow on top of that! Last two nights didn’t freeze the water on top of the ice to much snow and more coming… Sorry for being so negative!”

Thanks Andy. If enough guys push the envelope and a unlucky few fall through and somebody dies, next thing you know the DNR will set the time when the ice is ok to to venture out on.

As was mentioned earlier, rather then make your kids orphans before Christmas stop at a restaurant or grocery store for fish.

Be safe, it’s only a fish.

Remember……….the last guy they pulled out thought is was safe also.

Feathers what area were you fishing last week?

Andy, I agree and should have ended my post with a !

Between the ice, slush and snow this weekend has the potential to not end up so good for anybody who wants to take risks.

I’ve been saying what Andy indicates for years. People see a cold snap or that the calendar is December and they think it doesn’t pose a risk. There’s always going to be “that guy” who thinks it’s worth venturing onto questionable, unsafe ice to risk their life for a few perch. Use some common sense which is something people seem to be lacking regularly this time of year.

From what I have been able to gather, the resorts currently letting fisherman out are:

Chapmans (snowmobiles and ATV w/ tracks okay)
Lybacks (snowmobiles okay- no atv w/ tracks though)
Rocky Reef resort- foot only
Macs Twin bay- foot only

I messaged Twin Pines as well. Still waiting to hear back.

I’m sure there are more, I’m just not familiar with that many resorts. Also have a report from another thread that someone walked out of the west side and found sketchy but walkable ice.

Feathers wrote:

Some people will fish and some people will sit on their computer and tell people not to fish. Same as it ever was.

Feathers wrote:

Seems like it’s the same guys every year crying unsafe ice and bashing the guys who are out fishing.

I don’t see anywhere on this thread where it was told for people not to fish. Obviously people will do whatever they want to do.

The original question on this thread asked about ice conditions, so I don’t think that posting resort’s current ice reports is somehow providing a disservice. For those thinking about a trip for this weekend out of Red Door say, at least this information can save them the phone call at the very least. Is that helpful at all?

More importantly, the information being shared here isn’t just a question of “what’s the water temp, what are they biting on, best depths?”….it’s a matter of someone’s bad decision turning in to a tragedy.

Nobody’s “bashing the guys who are out fishing”, the criticism is more directed at those take unnecessary risks especially when information (warnings) are being offered.

Not everybody knows everything, but there are many that just practice…”monkey see, monkey do”

tbro16 wrote:

From what I have been able to gather, the resorts currently letting fisherman out are:

Chapmans (snowmobiles and ATV w/ tracks okay)
Lybacks (snowmobiles okay- no atv w/ tracks though)
Rocky Reef resort- foot only
Macs Twin bay- foot only

I messaged Twin Pines as well. Still waiting to hear back.

I’m sure there are more, I’m just not familiar with that many resorts. Also have a report from another thread that someone walked out of the west side and found sketchy but walkable ice.

You can add Randy’s to that list, just north of Rocky Reef. Walkout only as of now.

And just to add, walking out is definitely available in certain areas.

The greater concerns posted here are those that are running snowmobiles and ATV’s out of the public accesses without knowing where the bad ice is.

Personally, I would always access out of a resort…but maybe that’s just me.

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>mahtofire14 wrote:</div>
As much as I love fishing the south end early ice, the bite was really tough last weekend.

If I may, allow me to comment on that.

I’ve ice fished the lake for a good many years and the reality is that no matter when and where you fish, the results will vary a lot.

I’ve found that it is usually hit or miss with more misses than hits. Don’t be fooled by the reports of fast action, 20, 30, 40 walleyes a day ice fishing. You hear that from the one or two that hit it right, meanwhile there’s another 50 folks that were lucky to get a couple in 2 days. That’s the normal and I believe it commonly gets over-hyped by those that hit it at the right time and place and that’s what we want to hear and then set unrealistic expectations.

I’ve spent days out there on mud flats and offshore reefs and caught 1 or 2 walleye.

Another time I went with a portable at dusk close to shore and caught a dozen in less than an hour.

Some fish will stay shallow while every angler drives past them miles out to the flats.

BTW, you may feel you had a really tough bite last weekend but that 26″ walleye would make the trip successful and during the day! Just gotta keep expectations relative.

Mille Lacs is notorious for a horrible winter bite when compared with the summer bite. I don’t care who you are, the ice bite never lives up to the open water bite. This is good thing with all the wheelhouses I see on the lake these days.

I’ve been fishing Mille Lacs for 20+ years, a good day on the ice is anything more than a few walleyes. This would be a terrible day on the open water. Do some do better than others? Do some work harder than others? Of course. But the ice bite has been this way for many years. Good luck!

Sounds like at least one person dunked their 4-wheeler in the drink yesterday (Friday). Mid-week, someone also washed their spear house in Wig Wam Bay.

Caution. I walked out on Thurs. I smacked the sharpened spud every 5 feet. Other areas have resorts advising no travel. It’s a tough gamble.

Nitti’s

http://www.facebook.com/181304296221/videos/1753767568087502/

outdoorsmn wrote:

Mille Lacs is notorious for a horrible winter bite when compared with the summer bite. I don’t care who you are, the ice bite never lives up to the open water bite. This is good thing with all the wheelhouses I see on the lake these days.

I’ve been fishing Mille Lacs for 20+ years, a good day on the ice is anything more than a few walleyes. This would be a terrible day on the open water. Do some do better than others? Do some work harder than others? Of course. But the ice bite has been this way for many years. Good luck!

This couldn’t be more accurate which is why they allow harvest of fish all winter and it gets shut down in May after a few weeks, or its catch n release all season.

Does anyone know if guys are fishing in Wahkhon? We’re hoping to target some pike next week closer to shore

Bass Thumb wrote:

Sounds like at least one person dunked their 4-wheeler in the drink yesterday (Friday).

Yes they did, out of Garrison.

Sounds like going on now is Sheriffs float ice rescue boat is being sent out near Onamia Hwy 27 area.

But I’m sure the guy only weighed like 175 pounds. Hope he is alive but I’m short of sympathy.

Seriously, what would a guy and 4 wheeler weigh? I’m assuming he had it piled full of gear also. Pretty small footprint for a bunch of weight.

Dutchboy wrote:

But I’m sure the guy only weighed like 175 pounds. Hope he is alive but I’m short of sympathy.

Seriously, what would a guy and 4 wheeler weigh? I’m assuming he had it piled full of gear also. Pretty small footprint for a bunch of weight.

Ya, but the bite is on!

I’m sure this isn’t the last we will hear similar reports from the pond this weekend.

I needed to grab some gas this morning. There were more than one at the station with fishing gear ranging from one guy with 2 four wheelers and a home made pull behind house. Another guy had a collapsible house in the back of his truck. Now they might not have been going to Mille Lacs but I wouldn’t bet against it. I have a hard time believing Mille Lacs is safe. Especially when I see the Rum River in Princeton hasn’t even locked up yet. I understand a river has more current to keep it open but still ………..

Oh well, I enjoy the pictures of guys going through and what it costs to get pulled out. As long as nobody gets hurt I guess it’s just entertainment.